Things That Are Great #470

Jimmy Stewart getting impassioned.

I just watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington for the first time, and was reminded, quite forcibly, of what a joy it is to watch Jimmy Stewart get all impassioned about something. Watching the film also reminded me that I need to see more Frank Capra - I think that this and It's a Wonderful Life are all I've seen. It also spurred me to check out what other films Jean Arthur has been in - that tough-on-the-outside, gooey-on-the-inside persona combined with that nasal and perfectly pitched voice are a great combination, and I really feel bereft at not having seen her in (I think) anything else.

But mostly it's that long Jimmy Stewart fillibusterin' sequence that did it, and the way he can convey desperate passion that so impressed me. Sure, the movie kind of screeched to a halt, rather than ends properly, but still, this is prime stuff.

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